Fiona tree debris not picked up yet? Here's what Island crews are doing

Broken branches and tree trunks have been popping up like dandelions along P.E.I. roadsides this spring, as homeowners resume clearing their yards of debris from post-tropical storm Fiona.

Meanwhile,provincial contractors are busy hauling them away according to Stephen Szwarc, director of highway maintenance at the Department of Transportation.

"We have approximately 15 contractors going across the province and they're just doing their rounds and we're picking up as needed," he saidFriday, with just three weeks to go before the June 30 deadline for people to put the waste out.

Szwarc's team handles everything outside the boundaries of Charlottetown and Summerside, which have their own collection programs in place.

He estimated about tree pickup crews have passed by90 per cent of roadsides in Prince County, and about 50 percent in Kings and Queens counties.

'There's a lot on our plate'

But a cleared roadside doesn't stay cleared for long.

"After a weekend, the roads will be filled in again, or the sides of the road, so we have to go back," Szwarc said, adding that staff are doing rounds to monitor where new piles of brush and branches are showing up.

"Once they see that there's some debris and there's enough for a full truckload or to make a run, then they'll send a contractor."

Verges that have a large amount of debris piled in a way thatposes a safety riskget attention first. Nevertheless, contractors will return as many times as they have to in order to get the job done, Szwarc said.

After June 30, branches on the roadsides will still get picked up, but homeowners will be told to haul their debris to one of the 16 provincial debris sites.

The province has 41 other tree disposal sites for its contractors.

Some of the brush has been buried on site. Plansfor the eventual removal of the rest of the debris are in the works.

"It's amazing just how much is out there and just how much is being trucked to our debris sites." Szwarc said.

"There's a lot on our plate, and we're asking Islanders to be patient with our maintenance program, knowing that it is taking us some time. But we are making some good headway."